Vrykul
Vrykul (pronounced vrai-koul) are a race of Norse-themed half-giant warriors native to the Howling Fjord, located in southeastern Northrend. It is said that in ancient times the vrykul race inhabited the land, founding a vast and prosperous civilization. Suddenly one day, without warning or explanation, the vrykul race vanished, leaving behind only deserted villages and abandoned temples. Due to the encroachment of the Alliance settlement of Valgarde on their lands, vrykul have recently returned. Led by King Ymiron, these formidable warriors have begun attacking Horde and Alliance settlements from the fortress of Utgarde Keep, not far from Valgarde. Vrykul motives and their whereabouts for the past several thousand years remains a mystery, though they have recently become allied with the Lich King. Vrykul are dark and vampiric in nature, and are served by worgs and a similarly mysterious race of proto-dragons. They practice a runic magic that even the most experienced wizards find unfamiliar. For some reason they frown on manual labor, thinking it lowly.http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath/features/dungeons/utgarde.xml The quest states that vrykul children born in a certain time after their gods "abandoned" them were "weak and ugly". King Ymiron ordered all those children to be killed, but events observed in the preceding quest imply that not all parents obeyed this order and instead hid their children, to grow up far away from Northrend. A dialogue uncovered by Brann Bronzebeard in Ulduar lists the Vrykul (along with the Earthen and the Giants) as "seed races", implying that they are direct creations of the Titans, as opposed to having evolved from some other race over time. Appearance Vrykul appear as very large and muscular humans, usually with beards. Types A few different types of vrykul exist. The only currently known types are: *Iron vrykul - Iron vrykul, as the name suggests, have stone or metal-like skin with engraved runes. Sjonnir The Ironshaper appears to be this type of Vrykul. *Frost vrykul - Frost vrykul have blue skin and are covered in ice. They are adapted to living in the colder areas of Northrend. *Kvaldir - Kvaldir are a fleshy variation, covered in green scales and barnacles. The Skadir clan seems to be composed of them. Two undead variants derived from Vrykul stock also exist. *Val'kyr - Val'kyr are incorporeal undead raised from Vrykul females. The inhabitants of Valkyrion aspire to this transformation. *Vargul - Vargul are vrykul brought to undeath that weren't found worthy by the Lich King.Quest:Light Won't Grant Me Vengeance They are the losers of the challenge to "ascend" at Jotunheim. The winners are the Ymirjar.Quest:The Duke Clans *Dragonflayer clan *Skadir clan *Winterskorn clan Inspiration The vrykul seem to be inspired by the Einherjar (ine-her-yar, "lone ravagers/army of one") of Norse mythology who were the spirits of warriors who died glorious deaths in battle and were resurrected to serve the gods at the time of Ragnarök. Unlike the Einherjar however, the vrykul serve an evil purpose. The name vrykul comes from the Greek equivalent of the vampire, the vrykolakas (from the Slavic vǎrkolak). In addition, the vrykul may have ties to the Warhammer universe's Norscans, a nomadic and violent race of humans enthralled to the Chaos gods. The Warcraft series is believed to be originally inspired, in part, by the Warhammer games. Speculation It can be speculated that the birthing of humans was a severe side-effect of the Curse of Flesh on the vrykul. Gallery Image:Ss5-hires.jpg|Male vrykul concept art Image:Femalevrykul.jpg|Female vrykul concept art Image:Vrykul_Warrior.JPG|Older model Image:WWI_Utgarde_Keep_Mobs.jpg|Vrykul fighting a Dwarf Warrior in Utgarde Keep References Category:Northrend Category:Creatures Category:Giants Category:Vrykul